The feasibility of radiolabeling for human serum albumin (HSA) adsorption studies

Human serum albumin (HSA) was labeled in various ways and with different radioactive labels (Technetium-99m and Iodine-125). Characterization with electrophoresis on polyacryl gel and immunoelectrophoresis did not reveal differences between labeled and nonlabeled HSA. The release of the label from labeled proteins in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) was studied as a function of time. 125I-labeled proteins were stable and 99mTc-labeled proteins showed different stabilities depending on the labeling method which was used. The adsorption behavior of labeled HSA and HSA onto polystyrene (PS) and silicon rubber (SR) was studied by using two methods. It appeared that all labeled HSA compounds showed a preferential adsorption onto PS (and SR) substrates. The 99mTc-labeled HSA showed a high value of the preferential adsorption factor (φ 1). The φ value for 125I-labeled HSA was about 1.4. It was also shown that φ was dependent on the kind of substrate used. The methods developed to determine preferential adsorption of labeled proteins compared to their nonlabeled analogs are also generally applicable for different types of compounds

The Game-Theoretical Model of Using Insecticide-Treated Bed-Nets to Fight Malaria

2015-2016 UNCG University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund Grant Winner. Malaria infection is a major problem in many countries. The use of the Insecticide-Treated Bed-Nets (ITNs) has been shown to significantly reduce the number of malaria infections; however, the effectiveness is often jeopardized by improper handling or human behavior such as inconsistent usage. In this paper, we present a game-theoretical model for ITN usage in communities with malaria infections. We show that it is in the individual’s self-interest to use the ITNs as long as the malaria is present in the community. Such an optimal ITN usage will significantly decrease the malaria prevalence and under some conditions may even lead to complete eradication of the disease

Waste Recycling Can Promote Group Living: A Cockroach Case Study

Animals live in groups for a wide variety of reasons. The main benefits are related to anti-predator behaviour, foraging, mate finding and/or reduction of energetic costs. In this paper we present a game-theoretical model that supports the waste recycling hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the waste organic materials produced by the members of a group represent a valuable resource that is communally inherited and utilized by group members. Under this hypothesis and on the example of cockroaches, we determine evolutionarily stable strategies of social behavior and quantify conditions on natural parameter values such as food availability under which the group formation is beneficial

A voluntary use of insecticide-treated cattle can eliminate African sleeping sickness

Winner of the 2015-2016 UNCG University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund Grant. African sleeping sickness is a vector-borne disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Itis transmitted by tsetse flies and one of the most effective strategies to combat the disease is theuse of insecticide-treated cattle (ITC). In this paper, we present a gametheoretical model, inwhich individual farmers choose their own level of ITC in order to maximize their own benefits,effectively balancing the cost of ITC and the risk of their cows contracting the disease. We findthat even when the usage of ITC is strictly voluntary, the optimal ITC usage will eliminate thedisease when the cost of ITC is not prohibitively large. This is in a sharp contrast with similarscenarios of vaccination games where a voluntary vaccination never eliminates a diseaseentirely

School district creation, abolishment and reorganization in North Carolina : a legal history

This study provides educators, politicians and laypersons with adequate information regarding the creation, abolishment and reorganization of school districts in North Carolina. There were two major purposes of this study. One was to compare the historical and legal principles of school district organization produced by the state Constitution, general statutes and case law so as to assist these latter groups in making sound educational and legal decisions regarding the organization of school districts in their respective administrative units. The second purpose was to provide information that would enhance efforts to produce significant and equal educational opportunities for all students of the state

A longitudinal investigation of the factor structure of subjective well-being as measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale

This research examined the longitudinal stability of subjective well-being as measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale. Subjective well-being was hypothesized to have a hierarchical factor structure with a second order factor, subjective well-being, explaining variance in first order dimensions labeled agitation, lonely dissatisfaction, and attitude toward one's own aging. The latent constructs were measured by items composing the PGC scale. Maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to test the fit of the model. Subjective well-being was investigated using a panel of older rural adults (N=195) surviving a ten-year, two-wave investigation. The first wave of data was collected in 1976 with 418 older rural adults ranging in age from 65- 99 years. Survivors at the second wave, in 1986, ranged in age from 75-97 years. Three hypotheses were addressed in this study. Results of the study provided limited support for the first hypothesis, examining the stability of subjective wellbeing over time. The correlation of subjective well-being over time was statistically significant but moderate

Ethel Loroline Martus Lawther : her contributions to physical education

The purpose of this study was to present a professional biography of Ethel Loroline Martus Lawther. The writer attempted to trace and identify the professional contributions of Ethel Loroline Martus Lawther and to show the resulting influences on physical education. To accomplish this objective, it was necessary to consider three supplementary problems: 1. to trace the development of the achievements and professional activity of Mrs. Lawther during the preparation for and the early years of her teaching career; 2. to study the major developments of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and to make critical assessment of her role as its chief administrator; 3. to document her contributions to physical education through leadership positions in professional associations

The growing season

The Growing Season is the story of a place, the people who lived there, and the things that happened to them during a certain week in August. As a writer, I have always been interested in that large segment of our Southern population which is neither decadent nor decaying but very much alive and growing. It has been said that all towns in the Southern piedmont could once be divided (usually by the railroad tracks) into two sections: on one side the tree-shaded big houses where the aristocrats and the 'shabby genteel' lived, and on the other the forlorn shacks belonging to the 'poor white' mill workers and the Negroes. This picture has been changing, except for the Negro percentage of society, for the past thirty years, and like other parts of the country we now have a large and expanding group of people belonging somewhere between the two extremes of the social order. These people know little about the aristocrats, care nothing for the shabby genteel, and are too confident in their improved financial status to worry about dropping back into the class of poor whites

Vanishing: Dance Audiences in the Postmodern Age

Focusing on declining attendance at dance concerts in the United States, this essay raises questions about how we, as artists, are thinking about what we are doing in contemporary concert dance, what we value, how we teach, and the place of dance in today's postmodern culture. The views of scholars, critics, and artists are considered in the course of this investigation

A Realistic Look at Graduating Dance Majors: Problems and Solutions

My life in dance has had its share of indecision, relocation, changes in direction involving two returns to school, and many years of living poor. The circuitous route I took to stay in the field made me into entrepreneurial artist and teacher and finally, a member of a university dance faculty. I wanted to live outside New York City and have a “professional” career in modern dance, and as a result, my path has involved figuring things out as I went along: learning what was necessary to make a journey full of twists and turns, even though it was not always easy to see where the next step should take me. Financially, the desire to dance trumped any economic ambitions, but even so, the difficulties and the lack of encouragement for artists in this culture—especially dancers—often made life hard, although I did have the benefit of family support in the early years. In this article I am suggesting that we break down the barriers between the academy and the real world in a serious way, by teaching what we know about staying in the field in spite of the twists and turns life provides. Before they leave our care, we do our best to thoroughly prepare our dance education majors for work in the schools. I think we need to give young artists more preparation than simply learning to dance